1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to storage or packaging systems using resealable bags and, more particularly, to improved apparatus and methods for supporting such bags on a support rod of a storage or display rack, without having to first remove other bags from the support rod.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different kinds of plastic storage bags are presently available for storing all kinds of goods to protect the goods from deterioration or contamination, or just as a means of packaging various types of products. Among the more useful of plastic bags for storing goods are those that are equipped with resealable closures, which enable secure closure and re-use of the bag. An example of a typical resealable storage bag is illustrated in FIG. 1. The bag is sealed by moving the slider in one direction and unsealed by moving the slider in the opposite direction.
One disadvantage of the conventional resealable storage bag is that there is no convenient way to hang the bag, along with other similar bags, in an organized fashion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,245 issued to Bost, et al., discloses a resealable bag having a centrally-positioned tab attached to the upper part of the bag with a hole provided through the tab for hanging the bag on an open ended rod. Published U.S. patent application Ser. No. US2003/0210836 issued to Strand, discloses a resealable bag with a tab extension from the slider that includes a hole in the tab, also for hanging the bag on an open ended rod. The requirement for an open ended rod is a disadvantage because a bag having a hole as the only means for hanging the bag requires the removal of other bags that may be hung on the same support rod in order to access the bag of interest. Removal of several or many such storage bags, particularly if they must be removed and replaced in a specific sequential order, is a laborious and time-consuming process. Moreover, a rod supported only at one end cannot support as much weight as a rod supported at both ends.
Other solutions in the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,768 issued to Siegel and U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,068 issued to Suominen, both of which provide a centrally located hook fixed to the upper part of the resealable bag. These solutions provide a hook for hanging on a rod supported at both ends, an improvement over bags that lack such a hook. However, the fact that the hooks are fixed to the bag limits the usefulness of the resealable storage bag because the hook cannot be moved to offset an unevenly distributed load in the bag. Moreover, it would be advantageous if the resealable bags did not have to be redesigned to provide a hook integrated with a slider device for sealing and unsealing the bag.
What is needed, therefore is an adapter hook for supporting resealable bags on any kind of support rod, open ended or supported at both ends, that is easily attached to the slider of resealable bags of various sizes and styles.